"Could you please hold our Mascot while I take a picture?" the Husband asked.
Notice how he said "our"?
The pretty lady giggled. She blushed. She giggled some more. She took Me to her bosom and faced the camera.
"She is so CUTE!" she said as she gave Me back later.
The BossLady walked away taking in the view, while The Husband stayed behind talking to the girl, exchanging pleasantries and travel stories. I didn't see if phone numbers were exchanged, but they parted friends, that's for sure.
The die was cast. The Husband realized the great potential of having Me along. Before I could say "Quack", he took complete charge of Me for the whole trip. Using Me as an ice-breaker, he managed to take pictures of girls and he met more of them than he ever did as a teen-ager in heat.
I was dislodged from My comfortable perch on the bed. I was with him from then on.
For three weeks, from New Orleans to Guatemala, Belize, Aruba, Curacao, St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic and New York, he took me everywhere... I endured being handled, squeezed, tickled and passed from hand to hand. He was obssessed with taking pictures of girls ...with Me!
On board the cruise ship, he was so nervous at first, he could not even get the camera focused. See photo below. But he learned fast. No pretty girl was allowed to go without the honor of holding Me up for a picture.
Even poor, confused cruise guests were fair game.
On shore, nevermind the view, the history, or the places of interest--- he MUST first corral more and more girls for more pictures.
In the marketplaces...
and atop scenic overlooks.
on excursion boats...
at the docks!
(Psst... watch out for Chantz Powell, the guy above. Only 20, he's going to be very famous soon. He is being touted as the successor to Sammy Davis Jr. He can sing, dance, and play a mean trumpet. He has a CD out, called "Stories of Me". If you like jazz and the big band sound of Duke Ellington, Chantz's music will amaze you.
He brought his mother to the same cruise we were on and these two were just plain NICE folks!)
Anyway...
The Husband started getting distracted. He was just having too much fun clicking away, forgetting to ask the ladies to hold ME! 
That was it.
The BossLady grabbed Me back and hid me in the stateroom until we arrived in New York. (Gee, was she afraid I'd get contaminated?) But as soon as we were onshore playing tourist, the Husband was back to his old tricks.
He badgered the Desk People...
We're back home now. If you don't see Me around for a while, it's because I am trying to recuperate from the whole ordeal.
Oh... Just one last picture. This one I didn't mind at all. *Siiiggh.* It's My favorite.
Isn't he just ducky? *swooning*
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Comments: 81
The shot with George made me drool. I'd like to be a small, stuffed duck for that one!
That poster of Clooney was just outside one of the Duty Free shops on the cruise ship. It made me want to kiss his mug or buy everything on sight whenever I went by. Perhaps that was the main object of the damn picture being there???
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Melinda, we did! In fact, the hubby is now looking around for our next cruise...!
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Tamara, how do you think *I* felt while this was going on?
What a riot, also, what a great way to get to know people.
I love doing stuff like this.
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Joy, I am happy you stalked them over, too! I'll share Clooney with you... shall we go kidnap him now?
This was fun, Ducky. Especially the part where he 'forgot' you. I love your sense of humor.
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Sandy, we have a lot of commonalities, or have you forgotten? Hehehe.
I see you found/ reclaimed your missing 'N's... Glad to see you whole again.
(Are you getting paid for all this PR you're doing for them? You should.)
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Faith, if there was a girl around, he probably didn't! Not much anyway.
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Jan, yes... the best!
Ya think I could ask for pay? That would be neat! LOL.
We actually told an enormous amount of people from all over the world about Gather, more than I could count. That cruise ship alone had over 2,000 people in her and most of them heard about Duckieone's history and the site called Gather. These people came from everywhere to join the cruise and a lot of them held Duckieone and asked about the Gather logo on her tummy. When she got lost once, the Reception Desk personnel knew right away whom she belonged to when one of the cruise guests found her in the elevator.
Onshore, it was the same. Yup, Gather got a lot of free PR!
Your Duckie gets around more, though.
I'd love it if you would post this to my group
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Nana, I just joined your group and will post this there, now.
Web-footed girls unite.
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Jennifer, I am finding out, there are a lot of Clooney girls on Gather!
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Sandy, I am tickled pink that something as light as this can be featured. It must be Monday.
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Bethann, MK, flit, elizabeth, glad we could make you smile!
Thanks!
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Jennifer, thank you!
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Patricia, you must be a Clooney fan>
I know you'll be so busy this week preparing for your trip to Paris. Have a wonderful time!
I really enjoyed the last pic George Clooney Rocks!!
Thank You
Just Me
Barbie
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Barbie, glad you enjoyed! I'm adding your name to Clooney's list.
Your article has been included in Gather Writing Essentials: Humor Monday Update 5/5
I hope that you/he got extra Gather Points for all of the promotion you were doing!
--- ha ha ha... what a fun photo essay. Thanks for sharing this!
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Hey, Kevin! Nice to see you on my thread!
About those extra Gather points, who must I talk to about getting them, hmmm??? Sigh. It would be so nice if they could just dump a truckload of 'em my way. Or even a wheelbarrowful would be nice!
I honestly think that between my husband, the Mascot, and I, we managed to educate and inform a lot of people about the site. Even the non-English speaking people on the tour asked their translators to explain about the "Gather" Duck. There were about 350 Danes onboard, part of a big touring group who were enchanted by the stuffed thing and wanted to know about Gather. That's not to mention a whole shipload of people from England, Canada, Australia, Italy, Sweden, etc... and from just about every state in the Union. By the pools, in the restaurants, the spa, the elevators, hallways, library, theaters, clubs, etc. people saw Duckieone and asked about the name 'Gather' on her tummy. That's all free advertising and free PR.
So... where's dem bonus points? :-)
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Jeana, thank you... yes it was a great trip!
Thanks for sharing.
To your husband I say,
DUDE!
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Grems, it was a fun trip... we intend to go on more of them :-)
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John, I say your beautiful wife has good taste! George Clooney is Da Bomb!
Always room for Duckie ; )
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Elizabeth, thank you. After 42 years, I hope I do have him figured out.
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Cristina, glad you enjoyed!
great photo essay.....
p.s. I stalked you from Mariana's article...
Quite literally, hayup ang una mo!
Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~